3 questions for…Victoire Satto The 4 February 2021 - Première Vision Paris

A doctor, fashion enthusiast and environmentalist, Victoire Satto co-founded the Good Goods – the first French-speaking online platform dedicated to eco-responsible fashion- with her brother Thibault. With her scientific background, she supports the development of regenerative fashion, which she outlines for us here. Satto will explain all its advantages in our February 17th webinar on eco-responsibility.

What are the goals of The Good Goods platform?

We’re a 100% digital media with a unique approach that is positive and non-punitive, fashion-minded and ecologically oriented. Our goal is to present in a simple way all the information needed to make a shift to eco-friendliness without losing sight of the fact that fashion is also about pleasure. The Good Goods is not  political. The choices belong to our readers, but we bring together the key elements so they can act in good conscience. In particular, we make available to them an index of responsible brands, with an interactive map. Developing the index meant we had to conduct a major survey, with eleven selection criteria for all of the labels we selected, from know-how, to inclusiveness, etc.

How would you describe the current state of eco-responsible fashion?

I think it all started in 2013 with the Rana Plaza disaster, which generated an outcry without bringing about any concrete action because the brands weren’t ready. After that, awareness steadily increased and the pandemic represented a real turning point. Consumers had time to open their closets and see all these totally useless clothing items. Keep in mind that we only wear around 30% of what’s in our closets! And scandals like that of the Uyghurs have contributed to an increased mistrust of the fashion industry. Nine out of ten people today think a brand should exist only if there’s a strong reason behind it, meaning to dress warmly, sustainably and aesthetically. We are seeing an accelerating shift with a gradual abandonment of 20th-century practices, like the multiplication of collections and fashion shows. Many designers are slowing down and refocusing on the essence of their work. More and more brands – both luxury and mass-market – are championing ambitious goals in terms of eco-responsibility. The next five years will be a “test and learn” period, a time for research and development with unprecedented collaborative efforts. And for the first time, a real dialogue between fashion and science.

You’re especially interested in regenerative fashion – tell us about this idea.

Regenerative fashion is a way of looking at clothing over its entire life cycle. It’s a vertical and collaborative process, starting from the farmer and the raw material to a garment’s biodegradability. As part of this concept, a brand takes ownership of its entire value chain: respect for the plant cycle; the elaboration of the raw material (which is spun, woven and dyed according to organic methods) and manufacturing of the garment according to eco-design principles, with minimum waste, for example. A garment that one can take apart to recycle efficiently, which means thinking about all its elements. For example, rivets and zippers must be disassembled in order to be easily recycled. Regenerative fashion aims to create a biodegradable garment, part of which will enrich the earth while the rest will be recycled. It’s an ecological revolution as well as a social one because it will bring workers more social justice, autonomy, essential training etc. Lastly, it’s a great opportunity for companies to redefine their role and commitments.